Draft rigging



Sept 25, 1928.

DRAFT RIGGING Filed April 22' ffeom;

4:4 aucun m Patented sept. 2s, 192s.

STATES F/FIE.

PTENT DRAFT RIGG'ING.

Application filed April 22, 1926. Serial No. 103,908.

tion shock-absorbing mechanism especially adapted for receiving and absorbing forces transmitted through the associated coupler of a car. y

The principal obj ect of my invention, generally considered, is to provide a friction draft gear especially adapted for use on railway cars where high capacity, ruggediiess, economy of construction and low maintenance costs are desired.

Another object of my invention is to provide a friction draft gear especially adapted for use on railway cars where high capacity, easy release and high ultimate strength are desired.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a friction draft gear employing merely friction elements and plate springs, said springs performing the double function of absorbing the shocks by pressing the friction elements into engagement and effecting the release of the gear.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a friction draft gear whereinare utilized groups of curved platesprings which develop a strong resistance and induce a. frictional resistance between cooperating friction elements and between each other upon operation of the Igear.

Other objects of the invention willvbecome apparent from the following specification. v

Referring to the drawings illustrating my invention, the scope whereof is defined by the appended claims:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical central longitudinal section of a railway draft rigging embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical section'on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional View of a modification of my invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail, like parts being designated by like reference characters, a friction draft gear' 1 is illustrated, said gear in the-embodimentshown in Figures 1 and 2 comprising a pair of friction casings 2, longitudinally spaced and opening toward each other and each comprising an end wall 3, side walls 4, .a top wall 5 and a bottom wall 6. The end walls 3 are preferably formed with horizontally disposed wedge portions 7 inwardly extending toward each other and preferably arranged approximately midway between the top and bottom walls 5 and 6. These wedge portions are preferably formed by sloping the portions of the end walls above the mid portion downwardly and inwardly and the portion below said mid portion upwardly and inwardly to join with the downwardly andvinwardly sloping portion and meet at an apex 8. TheA angle that the sloping portions make with the horizontal is preferably greater than the angle of friction between bodies of steel or cast iron, of which the parts of the gear may be made, so that release may be effected without the use of auxiliary release springs.

Positioned between the casings 2 is an intermediate follower 9 preferably of a height corresponding with that of the casings and formed with outwardly extending wedge portions 10 positioned and shaped to corref spond with the wedge portions 7 on the casings. Enclosed in eachcasing between the same and the follower 9 is a. pair of spring carriers 11 formed with normally abutting bases of bottom walls 12, side walls 13, and end walls 14. The bases or bottom walls 12 adjacent the end walls 14 are preferably sloped to correspond with the slope of the side walls of the wedges 7 and l() so as to provide for the reception of vsaid wedges between the fiarin'g ends of the base portions 12 of the carriers 11. Said carriers 11 are preferably of a length corresponding tothe inside length of the casings 2 so that, when the gear is fully compressed, the casings abut the intermediate follower 9 and provide a solid column for transmitting ultimate stresses which may be impressed on the gear when in service. The follower 9 may be cored out, as indicated at 15, for decreasing the weight thereof.

Supported by or continued in each carrier 11 is a lgroup of preferably curved spring plates. 16. Said plates, in the embodiment shown, are positioned with their concave sides toward the bases 12 of the carriers but it is obvious that the position thereof may be reversed if desired. For taking the wear oif the springs 16 and distributing the wear on the casings 2, I preferably provide friction shoes or wear plates 17 fitting.. in the spring carriers 11 outwardly of the spring plates thereof and normally pressed into frictional lengagement with the upper wall 5 and lower wall 6, respectively, of vthe associated'casing '2. On account of the spring 16 being curved, more clearance is necessarily provided between the ends thereof and the associated carriers 11 than between the ends of the friction-shoes or wear Vplates 17 and said carriers, the clearance with respect to the wear plates being relatively small, as indicated in the drawings, so as to reduce the amount of lost motion therebetween and cause the maximum amount of movement between the wear plates and casings.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures `1 and 2, the gear is shown-with a pair of casings so as to be of a length corresponding to a full A. R. A. gear but it is obvious that, if a shorter gear is desired, only one casing may be employed as illustrated in Figure 3. In` Figures 1 and 2, the gear is shown associated with the standard follower attachments such as a horizontal yoke 18, a rear follower 19, a front follower 20 and a backstop 21.v The casings and rear follower are shown supported on carrier irons 22 connected to the center sills 23 in any desired manner (not shown). The yoke 18 at its rearward portion is shown supported by means of angle irons or clips 24, the vertical flanges of which are riveted or otherwise connected to the vertical webs of the center sills 23 'and the horizontal webs of which extend inwardly and underlie said yoke. The center sills are shown connected at their upper edges by means of a usual cover` plate 25.

The operation of the gear is as follows:

Upon draftl forces being applied to the l yoke 18, the rear casing 2 is moved toward the front casing to thereb cause the spring carriers 11 to ride forwar ly and outwardly on the wedge portions df the casings and intermediate follower 9, respectively, and cause a compression or flattening out of the plate springs 16 and' the generation of frictionv between the wear plates or friction shoes'17 andthe adjacent walls of the casings. It will be apparent that friction is generated between the wedges and the carriers, between the friction plates themselves and the engaging bases of the carriers, be-

tween the wear plates 17 and the carriers and between said wear plates and the casings. As the intermediate follower 9 ap- "proaches both casings, the spring carriers approach the corresponding end walls of the casings, at half the speed because they, at the same time, approach the intermediate follower at a corresponding speed so that the motion between the friction shoes or wear plates and the casings isapproximately half that of the motion between the intermediate follower 9 and each casing. Upon bufling forces being applied to the front follower 20, the front casing 2.1noves toward the rear casing but otherwise the gear functions in a corresponding manner.-

provided for insuring Referring to the embodiment of my inshown a gear approximately one-half the length of the gear shown in the first two figures and employed with a vertical yoke 26 and backstop 27 without any other rear follower than that comprising a follower28 which is formed with a wedge-shaped portion 29 corresponding to the wedge-shaped portions 7 and 10 of the previous embodiment but vertically disposed. In other respects the casing 2a, the spring carriers 11, spring group 16a and wear plates 17a are identical with the casings, carriers,

spring groups and wear plates of the first embodiment except that they are positioned at an angle of 90 with respect thereto. Itis obvious, however, that this shortened gear may be used in the same position as the gear of the first embodiment and the operation is similar tothe operation of said first Amentioned gear. l

From a consideration of the foregoing, it will be apparent that the tandem arrangement disclosed in Figures 1 and 2 is especially adapted for a full A. R. A. gear. To replace the 181/2 inch Cardwell gear or to interchange with any 201/8 or 22%c inch gear, two shorter casings and their associated parts might be used, if desired, or one unit with an auxiliary spring in tandem. To replace twin springs, a short unit could be provided embodying my invention and the rear follower 19 could be omitted. On account of the limited space, leafor plate springs are practically necessary for a gear of this sort if a high capacity is to be secured. If desired, special means may be that the spring carriers or cages stay a solutely parallel but, as will be apparent, they will remain substantially so without any auxiliary devices.

- Having now described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a draft gear, in combination, a friction casing formed with a wedge-shaped inner portion, a plurality of spring carriers enclosed in said casing and formed with friction faces cooperating with the wedgeshaped portion on the casing, a plurality of spring plates contained in said carriers, -a follower formed with a wedge-shaped portion complementar to the vwedge-shaped portion on the casing and engaging correspending4 portions on the spring carriers whereby, when the gear is compressed, thel lllh are sepa-rated when the follower moves to-y ward the casing. f V

3. In a draft gear, in combination, a casing formed with an end wall, side walls and top and bottom walls, a wedge-shaped extension formed on the inner side of the end wall, spring carriers each formed with a bottom wall and side walls, the ends of the bottom wall being sloped at an angle corre-` spending to the wedge-shaped portion on the carrier and engaging said wedge-shaped portion one on each side thereof, a group of curved spring plates longitudinally disposed in said carriers, a follower of a height correspondin with that of the casing formed with a wedge-shaped extension complementar to the wedge-shaped extension on the en wall of the casing and engaging the op- A'posite ends of the spring carriers whereby,

when the casing and follower move toward each other, the spring carriers are wedged apart against the spring action between the walls of the casing and the bottom walls of the carriers to flatten the spring plates.

4. In a draft gear, in. combination, a friction casing formed with a wedge-shaped inwardextension, a pair of transversely arranged carriers in said casing and formed with friction faces engaging opposite sides of the wedge-shaped extension, a group of curved sprino plates in-each carrier, friction shoes receivazble in said carriers exterior to said spring plates for protecting the latter from wear, a follower formed with a wedgeshaped extension corresponding with that on the casing and correspondingly engaged with the spring carriers whereby the wedge portions act to separate the carriers upon relative approach of the casingl and follower.

5. In a draft gear, in combination, a friction casing formed with a wedge-shaped in-- ward extension, a pair of transversely arranged ca-rriers in said casing and formed with friction faces engaging opposite sides of the wedge-shaped extension, a group of curved spring plates Ain each carrier, a follower formed with a wedge-shaped extension corresponding with that on the casing and correspondingly engaged with the spring carriers whereby the wedge portions act to sefparate the carriers upon relative approach o the casing and follower, and friction shoes positioned in the carriers outwardly of the spring plates and frictionally engaging the adjacent walls of the casing when the gear is operated.

6. In a draft gear, in combination, a friction casing formed with an end wall, side walls and upper and lower walls, the intermediate portion of said end wall being provided with a downwardly and inwardly sloping portion and an upwardly and inwardly sloping portion meeting said downwardly and inwardly sloping portion approximately midway between the upper and lower walls, a follower positioned adjacent the open end of the casing and formed with correspondingly sloping walls extending toward the walls of the casing, a pair of spring 'carriers formed with normally abutting bases, the ends of which are sloped and engage the sloping walls on the casing and follower with which they correspond, curved spring plates positioned in said carriers, and friction shoes mounted in said carriers outwardly of said springs and frictionally engaging the upper and lower walls, respectively, of the casing.

7 In a draft gear, in combination, a plurality of longitudinally spaced casings opening toward each other and each formed with an inner wedge-shaped extension on the end Wall thereof, a plurality of carriers enclosed in each casing and formed with normally abutting bases the ends of which are correspondingly sloped for frictional engagement with the wedge-shaped extensions,

riers, an intermediate follower formed with outwardly extending wedge-shaped portions corresponding to the wedge-shaped extensions on the casings and engaging correspondingly sloped friction surfaces on the spring carriers, whereby said carriers are separated when the lcasings are moved toward each other.

8. In a draft gear, in combination, a pair of spaced friction casings formed .with wedge-shaped extensions from the inner surfaces of the end walls thereof, a pair. of transversely arranged carriers in each casing and formed with friction faces engaging opposite sides of the wedge-shaped extensions, a group of curved plate springs ineach carrier, a follower disposed intermediate the casings and formed with. wedge-shaped portions corresponding with and extending-toward the 'wedge-shaped extensions on the casings and engaging correspondingly formed friction faces on the carriers, whereby said wedge-portions act to separate the carriers upon relative approach of the casings, said casin s being adapted to abut the follower upon ll closure of the gear. D

.y 9. In a draft gear, in combination, a pair of friction casings each formed with end walls, side walls and upper and lower walls,

the intermediate portion of said end vwalls f being formed as downwardly and inwardly` i* to engage the sloping walls on the casing and followers with which they correspond, curved spring plates positioned in said carriers and friction shoes mounted in. said carriers outwardly of said springs and frictionally engaging .the upper and lower walls, respectively, of the casings.

- 10. In a railway draft rigging, in combination with movable elements for applying forces received by said rigging, a draft gear comprising a friction casing formed with a wedge-shaped inner portion, a plurality of spring carriers enclosed' in said casing and formed with friction faces cooperating with the wedge-shaped portion on the casing, a plurality of spring plates contained in said carriers, a follower-formed with a wedge-shaped portion complementary to the wedge-shaped portion on the casing and engaging corresponding portions on the spring carriers whereby, when the gear is compressed, the spring carriers move away from each other and compress the spring plates, and wear plates positioned between said spring plates and the adjacent sides of the casing and movable with the spring plates when the gear is operated.

11. In a railway draft rigging, in combination with movable elements for applying forces received by said rigging, a draft gear comprising means exterior of said spring plates for frictionally engaging said casing and protecting said spring plates from wear, a casing formed with an end wall, side walls and top and bottom walls, a wedgeshaped extension formed on the inner side of the end wall, spring carriers each formed with a bottom wall and side 'walls, the ends of the bottom wall being sloped at an angle corresponding to the wedge-shaped portion on the carrier and engaging said wedge-- shaped portion one on eachside thereof,

a group of curved spring plates longitudinally disposed in said carriers, a follower formed with a wedge-shaped extension complementary to the wedge-shaped' extension on the end wall of the casing and engaging the opposite ends of the spring carriers whereby, when the casing and follower move toward each other, the spring carriers are wedged apart against the springv action between the walls of the casingoand the'bottom walls of the carriers to flatten the spring plates;

l2. In a railway draftrigging, in combination with movable elements for applying forces received by said rigging, a draft gear comprising a friction easing formed with a wedge-shaped inward extension, a pair the carriers outwardly of the spring plates and frictionally engaging the adjacent walls of the casing when the gear is operated, said casing being formed to completely receivev the carriers and the elements contained therein, whereby the follower abuts the adjacent end of the 4casing when the gear is completely compressed.,

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

DONALD s. BARROWS. 

